Slight Change of Plans

Yesterday I turned down the job offer in China which I had unofficially accepted.

They've been really pushy and it's kind of annoying. There are tons of other teaching jobs in Asia but this school was almost acting like they were the only one and I felt like they were really rushing me to have all of my paperwork ready in one week and sign the contract immediately and I don't like being rushed.

I've had jobs in Asia before and never really felt rushed so this started getting on my nerves and finally I just told them I was no longer interested in the position.

That plus the fact that they originally offered me certain hours and a certain salary but once I agreed they lowered the salary and altered the hours which I did not like. Plus, they said that in addition to teaching English they wanted me to teach History which is not a subject I feel capable of teaching....at least not now. I could get there through study but when I accept a job to teach English I'm not expecting to teach a second subject also.

I was up until maybe 2am this morning looking at other jobs in Thailand, Laos and China and applied to a few more. I wouldn't mind going to Thailand or Laos for 6-10 months and I think the teaching jobs in Thailand are only 6 months so maybe that would be better.

However, I'm really enjoying life here in California and would not mind sticking around to play music, work wherever and take some college classes wherever.

I still might go back to China in September but I am not open to the idea of staying here in California and just taking a break from travelling.

California

I finally made it back to California. I guess I've been here for about a week, give or take a day. I just asked my Mom (staying with my parents) and she said 8 days. I am glad to be back home and spending time with my family but I feel so disoriented emotionally, socially, physically....I am drained and exhausted and feeling slightly out of place.

I've been sleeping a lot since I returned and I've been sneezing, coughing and experiencing headaches. I feel like now that I can finally relax my body is letting me experience all the aches and pains my mind has forced me to endure and overlook over the past 3 years.

I am really happy to be out of the Navy and back in California. I've been working on some of the paperwork for my Chinese Visa and feeling kind of overwhelmed. I still need to go to the police department in Los Angeles and get a criminal background check to send them which hopefully won't take too long. I'm not sure what else I'll need to do but I hope it's not much because I want to enjoy this summer and not spend too much time doing paperwork or much of anything, haha.

I do want to spend some time in Los Angeles and Malibu taking photographs and I want to write and record some music with my friend Tommy who lives nearby. I also want to spend a lot of time with my family, especially my niece, Riley, and my nephews, William and Parkers.

Going back to China for a year (possibly two) will be a lot of fun but after that I think I will return to California for a good and use my GI Bill to work on a degree in Hotel Management.

I think I'd like working in a hotel in California.

Washington

Well, I made it. I am finally here in Washington ready to process out of the Navy. Hard to believe it's been 4 years already but, at the same time, I almost felt like this day would never come. It has been a challenging experience. The first year wasn't too difficult but my three years in VFA-102 in Japan were very difficult.

Still, I faced and overcame the challenges I was presented with and in about a week will be officially separated and on a plane back to LA.

I am leaving here with an Honorable Discharge, an MP (Must Promote) Eval (Evalutation) and full benefits which include the GI Bill.

I have a job offer for a middle school or high school in Xi'an and I am thinking of taking it and returning to China for a year or two to resume my study of Mandarin and devote more time to photography.

Speaking of photography, I went to Seattle 2 days ago and took several pics of the area.

It's my understanding that it is usually rainy and cloudy here so the fact that the weather has been nice since I got here is remarkable and also funny. Funny because several of the ports I visited when deployed (I've participated in three 6 month deployments) were rainy and cloudy on the days we were there and I prefer taking pics when it is bright and sunny out.

It's almost symbolic somehow. Cold and rainy while serving in the military and bright and sunny while transitioning out.

I am really excited to spend the summer with my family and have the opportunity to take photos of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Malibu. I think that will improve my portfolio tremendously since the majority of photos I have taken over the last three years have been in Asian countries. I also visited Guam and Australia and took photos in both locations but to be able to add images from Seattle and Los Angeles will really diversify and strengthen my portfolio.

Of course, China is located in Asia so I'm not quite finished taking pics of Asia to add to my portfolio but having pics of America in my portfolio is something I really want. I might even take a trip to Tombstone, Arizona with my father this summer if he has time.

It's Sunday here, May 10th and I could be leaving in 7 days or less and this excites me.